


til the judgment that you yourself arise

by stillskies



Category: Bleach, Tokyo Babylon/X
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-24
Updated: 2008-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-17 11:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/176281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillskies/pseuds/stillskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Death isn't what Subaru expects. [X/Tokyo Babylon & BLEACH crossover]</p>
            </blockquote>





	til the judgment that you yourself arise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kitsune jade](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kitsune+jade).



> Originally posted to Paradox Fantasy on 12/24/2008

The afterlife is not what he had expected. He is in the first district of Rukongai, and people are milling about him as they did in life. A few have stopped to welcome him and then continued on with their business, but nothing seems they way that he had been taught.

It unnerves him. He is walking around, and he can still feel the heat beating on his face and the light caress of the wind on his arms. His gloves are gone, and he cannot see the pentagrams etched on the back of his hands. He wonders if it is because he is dead, because even after Seishirou-san had died, he could still see them – the faint lines aglow with a light of their own – even when others could not.

His stomach twists, and he recognizes the faint sensation as hunger. Yet another thing that he had not expected to feel once his mortality had vanished.

It takes some time to locate anyone who can even vaguely help him. Everyone he has asked has brushed off the question, telling him that he only _thinks_ he is hungry.

 _The dead do not feel hunger,_ the old woman says. _Only those with vast spiritual energy retain such trivial things._

He sighs and sits down, placing his hand gently on his stomach. The twisting sensation has evolved into a clenching pain.

 _You’re hungry,_ someone says, and he looks up to find two men standing before him.

The one who had spoken has shockingly bright red hair, and he feels a brief pang for Hokuto. _Yes,_ he says, standing. _Though I am told that I should not be._

 _You are Sumeragi Subaru, correct?_ the other man says. There is an air of regality around him, and Subaru fights the urge to bow. The Sakurazukamori defer to none but themselves.

 _Yes,_ Subaru replies, nodding his head.

 _Follow me,_ the other man says abruptly before he turns and walks away.

 _Don’t mind Kuchiki-taichou,_ the redhead tells him. _We were sent to retrieve you._

 _Sent to retrieve me?_ Subaru repeats.

 _Oh, that reminds me,_ the redhead says. _I’m Abarai Renji. Vice-captain of the Sixth Squad of the Gotei 13._ Abarai motions for Subaru to follow.

 _Gotei 13?_ He feels he should know the name, yet he cannot place it.

Abarai laughs. _I’ll explain on the way,_ he says, and Subaru follows.

+++

His zanpakuto is short, the blade thin and sharp. It whistles through the air when he slices through the wind. He is more adept at Kido, though no one is surprised by that, least of all himself. The fundamentals are similar to onmyojitsu, though there is quite a repertoire of spells to memorize.

 _You will be seated within my division,_ Kuchiki-san tells him upon his graduation.

 _Thank you,_ Subaru says quietly. He has been dead for several years, and studies have kept him occupied. He was told early on by Abarai that people rarely run into those whom they knew in life in Rukongai.

It would only be foolish to search for Seishirou-san and Hokuto, he knew, so he had thrown himself into his studies and graduated quickly.

Kuchiki-san had dropped by frequently to check on his progress and offer lessons, and now he is offering a seat in his squad. Subaru is unsure as to what has prompted Kuchiki-san’s generosity, though he is wise enough to stay under the older man’s tutelage.

They reach Seireitei quickly; Kuchiki-san is skilled at _shunpo_ and Subaru has to struggle to keep up. The city is a picture of gleaming white walls that blind Subaru with their glare. There is a tall tower in the center of the city, which, from his studies, he knows is where criminals who are to be executed are kept.

Kuchiki-san shows him to his quarters and takes his leave, so Subaru is left to his own devices. There is a Gotei 13 issued shihakusho. The squad insignia is carved into the posts of his bed. Subaru traces the design with his hand, searching his memory for the meaning of the flower.

_”Subaru, Subaru!” Hokuto calls, holding up a bunch of flowers for him to see. He picks one from her makeshift bouquet and sniffs. The smell is very sweet, and Subaru smiles._

_“That’s a Camellia flower, Subaru,” Hokuto informs him. “Grandmother says it means ‘noble reason,’ which is why they’re planted all over the estate.” She rolls her eyes. “I like this one better.” She holds up an odd looking flower. There are few petals and they stand locked in place on the stem. “It’s a Bird of Paradise. I don’t remember what it means, though.”_

Noble reason. He smiles, thinking how fitting it was for the head of the Sumeragi Household be placed into the squad whose insignia represents his family.

+++

He dreams that night of Hokuto and Seishirou-san. They are at Ueno park, sitting under the trees. There is snow on the ground, yet the sakura are blooming, silken petals flittering through the air and landing in their hair, on their clothes, in the snow beside them.

Subaru shivers, and Seishirou-san wraps his arm around him. Hokuto rolls her eyes and tells them to get a room. Seishirou-san just laughs and pulls Subaru closer. Subaru closes his eyes against Seishirou-san’s warmth, and when he opens them to look up at the other man, it is Kuchiki-san sitting beside him.

He jerks awake.

+++

Kuchiki-san is watching him closely. The back of Subaru’s neck is itching from the sheer force of the Captain’s gaze. Abarai is walking next to him as they do their morning rounds.

 _Kuchiki-taichou is watching you like a hawk,_ Abarai comments. _What did you do?_

Subaru shakes his head. _I am unaware of doing something that displeases him,_ he replies.

Abarai shrugs, and they continue their rounds.

+++

They are standing outside his quarters, looking at the sky. There have been rumblings of an attack for some time, and the only reasonable attempts would be coming over the walls or breaking through the shield and launching an aerial attack.

 _You have adjusted well,_ Kuchiki-san says.

Subaru nods. _Thank you for all of your help._ It’s a bit late; he’s been seated for three years.

They say nothing for a while longer, and then Kuchiki-san begins to point out constellations. Subaru counts the path in his mind, watching Kuchiki-san’s finger, rather than the stars in the sky, much like the way Hokuto did when they were younger.

Kuchiki-san points out the last constellation that they can see, and Subaru turns to him and bows. _Is there anything else, Kuchiki-taichou?_

His captain shakes his head, and Subaru turns to leave. He is stopped by the itching on his neck. When he turns back around, he finds Kuchiki-san staring at him.

_He finds himself staring more and more as time goes on, and he knows that Seishirou-san must know by now. Especially when he turns around and Subaru quickly looks away, cheeks flaring from embarrassment._

_Hokuto-chan says that he should take his time, figure out his feelings. There is no rush; they have forever._

Kuchiki-san is not turning away, and if there is any flush present on his cheeks, it is well hidden by the shadows. Kuchiki-san nods and enters his rooms, leaving Subaru with a mixture of emotions he hasn’t felt since Seishirou-san died on Rainbow Bridge all those years ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Title shamelessly borrowed from Sonnet 55 by William Shakespeare


End file.
